The Tony Williams Lifetime ~ USA

Million Dollar Legs (1976)

From the first notes, one hears a more mainstream mid 70s fusion sound. Some of that can be attributed to the period synthesizers employed. Holdsworth is practically playing heavy metal on the first cut. And Williams is bashing the drums as wildly as ever. It's on A2 that the era's genre norms began to creep in. Funky r n' b with horns, strings and vocals (I mean, you can't have those). Williams was only 30 years old when this was recorded, and with already an impressive jazz resume, it's not such a stretch that he'd want to explore other avenues like his compatriot Herbie Hancock. Once past that, the album goes back to Williams' original jazz rock premise. The style brush is much larger, though the compositions don't suffer from it. It's more funky than its predecessor, and perhaps Chick Corea was an influence for Williams here. This isn't a sell out, but rather an innovative effort extending beyond the rules. It's aggregate low rating seems more like a reaction to what was expected versus what was delivered. Turns out you ordered the wrong meal, but ended up finding a new dish to savor.

Ownership: 1992 Columbia (CD) with Believe It. Booklet contains history and perspectives.

2003 (acquired); 1/7/15; 10/13/25 (review)

Believe It (1975)

This is technically the New Tony Williams Lifetime, since it's a completely different lineup. The guitarist here is Allan Holdsworth lighting it up far more than usual. He's a cruncher, not a shredder in the McLaughlin tradition. Nor is he spiritual like Santana. On Believe It, he brings a sound we start to hear more frequently in the 90s, proving his influence over many youngsters from the 70s. I'm a big fan of busy drummers, and Williams gives you a lot of bang for the buck. Bassist Tony Newton does an admirable job of keeping up. Alan Pasqua's keyboards are a complete contrast, offering up atmospheric Fender Rhodes electric piano. Though I'd probably love to hear Larry Young go wild on the Hammond, I'm quite OK with the end result. Believe It is one of the best mainstream jazz rock fusion albums on the market.

Ownership:

1975 Columbia (LP)

1992 Columbia (CD) with Million Dollar Legs. Booklet contains history and perspectives.

1991 (acquired); 2003; 1/7/15; 10/12/25 (review)
 

Ego (1971)

The negative opinions are pretty strong on this one. I can appreciate the expectation that one would have for such a talent as Tony Williams in the highly creative year of 1971. And this definitely doesn't come through as a landmark winner of the year. But is it an abject failure? No, not in my opinion anyway. There's three throwaway percussion songs, and they are all the shortest, so that helps. The remainder is a fine jazz rock effort, and it closes well with the final three compositions. Anything with Larry Young on organ is worth an ear, and he does a fine job here. Final two tracks are the highlights. Overall the tone is pretty loose and raw, which are pluses. Williams' vocals are not a highlight for sure, but we've all certainly heard worse.

Former ownership: 1999 Verve (CD). Digipak. Includes the original LP liner notes.

2000 (acquired); 3/14/15; 11/24/15 (review); 1/21/24 

Other albums I own and need to review: Emergency; Turn It Over

11/24/15 (new entry)